Motorists have been hit with delays as a major clean-up operation continues following flash floods.

Eston High Street has been closed in both directions since around 5pm today.

This was to enable workers to carry out emergency repairs between Birchington Avenue and Church Lane which had been badly hit by downpours over the weekend.

The closure led to congested routes around Eston and Normanby, with some drivers questioning why the closure was imposed around rush-hour.

Redcar and Cleveland Council said the clean-up involved removing excess mud from the roads and had to close the area for health and safety reasons.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Our highways teams have been working at full capacity since Saturday when severe floods caused serious problems.

A car drives through flood waters after heavy rain in Teesside at the weekend

“Our first priority is always people’s safety and we have been working full time to make sure roads and properties are safe.

“We have taken all the steps possible to clean the area, however in order to remove the mud we have unfortunately had to close the road for health and safety reasons.

“It was priority for us to remove the mud as if it remained on the road and we had further wet conditions it could cause safety issues.

“We’ve tried to the time the road closure to have as little impact as possible on businesses and we have provided diversions. However this closure was unavoidable. We understand people’s frustration and we ask for their patience.”